


The Scent of Monsters

by alisayamin (sh_04e)



Series: Blue Lock Mercenary!AU [1]
Category: Blue Lock (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Badass, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Epic Friendship, Established Relationship, Fluff, Light Angst, Lots of curse words cuz reo is having a bad day, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mercenaries, Minor Violence, Protectiveness, Team as Family, everyone loves isagi one way or another, isanagi, nagisagi, sniper!Isagi, swordsman!Nagi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:29:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25490014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sh_04e/pseuds/alisayamin
Summary: Blue Lock offers its cleaning services to anyone who can pay the price. They've got monsters who clean up good and some who clean up even better when they're cornered.
Relationships: Isagi Yoichi/Nagi Seishiro
Series: Blue Lock Mercenary!AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1850272
Comments: 14
Kudos: 119





	The Scent of Monsters

**Author's Note:**

> It's not my first Blue Lock fic but we don't talk about the first one hahaha  
> Isanagi is life, that's all. (I love the isanagi nation on twitter, y'all are bootiful people)
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of blood, violence and general shit from an assassin!AU type of fic

Isagi squirmed in between the shrubs. He hated missions in the mountains. Camping and waiting out for their target was tedious work. Finally, Isagi found a nice relaxed position after he moved some twigs out from under his torso. He looked through his scope once more and adjusted the sniper rifle and bipods to focus his aim at one precise location – the door to one of the bunkers in the main base.

Raichi and Gagamaru were already at their own positions with the same mark. This mission involved a high risk target that they couldn’t afford to let slip past them again. Niko’s team already failed once.

“I’m in position,” Isagi informed his team.

 ** _“Bout time, you little shit!”_** Raichi’s shout burst through the com. 

Isagi couldn’t help but snicker to himself. That hothead never changed. It’s not like Isagi was late on purpose. He drew the short end of the stick yesterday and was the only one who had to climb to high ground. Isagi pulled back the operating rod of his gun and engaged the safety catch. From the high vantage point, he would have the clearest shot of their target if his teammates missed.

“Kuon, you good?”

**_“Yeah, just give me a sec.”_ **

Kuon was in charge of the distraction to lure their target out. Once the signal was given, the three snipers would lie in wait and shoot the moment their target came through those doors.

Seconds ticked by into minutes. And no signal was given.

 ** _“Kuon, we’re waiting on you,”_** Gagamaru urged.

But Kuon did not respond.

Isagi suddenly had a bad feeling about the whole mission. Now that he realized, he noticed that the base was too quiet. Isagi took the risk and looked away from the door to instead scan the whole base with his scope. There were no movements on the ground despite the base bustling with activity just yesterday during the team’s first scout. It was almost like no one was home.

Isagi looked away from the telescopic sight of his gun. “Something’s not right. Raichi, Gagamaru, we need to retreat. This might be a trap.“

**_“The heck you crapping abou-“_ **

Raichi was cut off by a loud explosion that visibly occurred near the base. They could hear the rustle of trees and the telltale sign of smoke from a growing fire.

 ** _“Was that… supposed to be the signal?”_** Gagamaru asked slowly as though confused.

“No…” Isagi whispered gravely because he knew that one of his teammates’ position was exactly where the explosion had occurred. The distraction was not supposed to be that big or that loud. Which meant- “KUON!”

Isagi packed up his weapon and gears swiftly as he stood up and raced down the mountain. “Something must’ve went wrong when he tried to detonate the distraction! You guys stay in position and take the shot!”

**_“Where are you going?!”_ **

“Kuon might still be alive!”

**_“Get back in position, Isagi, you stupid fuck-“_ **

Once more Raichi was cut off but this time by Gagamaru’s nonchalant voice saying, **_“Target’s live.”_**

**_“Shit.”_ **

Isagi could hear two shots being fired simultaneously as he continued to trek down the hill to where Kuon was. He smiled in relief when his team reported that the target was finally taken down. Alarms blared loudly but Isagi and his team failed to notice that there was still little to no movements from the enemy base.

“You two go ahead and retreat. I’ll catch up with Kuon.”

**_“Roger that.”_ **

**_“Whatever you little shit. I’ll beat you both up later.”_ **

Isagi smirked. “Looking forward to it.”

When he finally reached Kuon’s supposed coordinates, Isagi saw no sign of his teammate except for the tools and gears Kuon always brought with him. The duffel bag was lying innocently on the blackened ground, surrounded by charred tree barks and dead grass.

“Kuon?” Isagi called out loud.

 ** _“You always were the naïve one, Isagi,”_** a familiar but cold voice spoke through the com.

Isagi didn’t have time to even comprehend why Kuon would say such a thing before the duffel bag detonated like a well-crafted bomb right beside him.

It was about an hour later when Gagamaru and Raichi informed headquarters that their mission had failed because they discovered that not only did they shoot a decoy but the target’s base that had 300 occupants had somehow evacuated overnight. To make matters worse, they admitted that Kuon had gone rogue and Isagi was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Chigiri was running late for the emergency meeting. He had just returned from his own mission when he got the notification. He quickly went to his quarters to take a shower to get rid of the grime on his body. Emergency meeting or not, he wasn’t going to show up dripping with blood like Bachira and Isagi once did after they came back from ‘cleaning up the mess’ of some mafia family.

When Chigiri finally entered the room, the atmosphere was overwhelming with palpable negative energy. He immediately knew that something bad had happened.

“Kuon went rogue,” Kunigami told him just as Chigiri was closing the door. “And they took Isagi.”

Rage build up so quickly inside Chigiri that it almost gave him whiplash. No wonder the tension was so high. They had a traitor amongst them. And it costed them one of their best mercenaries, one of their most coveted strategist and sniper.

“Who’s got him? Where is he?”

“Don’t bother~” Bachira suddenly piped up with a cheerful smile, looking as carefree as ever with his hands entwined at the back of his head. The look in his eyes told a different story though. After all, Isagi was his favourite.

“ _Don’t bother_?” Chigiri glared at Bachira. “You really expect me to sit here and wait it out-“

Kunigami cleared his throat and explained before Chigiri could start ranting, “This whole building has been on lockdown ever since you came back. You were the last to arrive before Raichi and Gagamaru reported what happened. Ego has kept us locked inside ever since.”

“Fuck that,” Chigiri spat. “We can bust out of here with our hands tied-“

Bachira snickered. “Like I said, don’t bother, Chigiri~”

Chigiri’s head snapped towards Bachira. “Why do you keep saying that?!”

Bachira’s wild eyes stared at Chigiri. He cocked his head to the side, like a curious child as he asked, “Haven’t you noticed? Who’s not here?”

The significance of Bachira’s question hit Chigiri when he realized that Nagi, Zantetsu and Reo were missing. Of course, they weren’t due back till tomorrow at least. And if Nagi got word about what happened, well…

Bachira read the understanding look on Chigiri’s face. “Get it now? If _we’re_ already this pissed, I don’t wanna _know_ what that guy looks like~!”

With a casual jump backwards, Bachira sat himself on the meeting table with his legs dangling happily. “I feel really sorry for the ones who took Isagi.”

“Do you really?” Kunigami asked him with a flat look.

“Hehe!” Bachira giggled. “Nope!”

Bachira leaned back on his hands and faced the glares of his teammates. His own eyes were filled with hidden rage and thirst for blood. The monster inside Bachira seemed to rejoice with everyone in the room as he said with an eerie smile, “I hope Nagi gives them _hell_ for touching what’s ours.”

* * *

When Isagi woke up, he kept his eyes closed and his body relaxed. He needed to account everything that happened and assess the situation. His hands were tied behind him. It was something malleable but tough and thick enough to make sure he couldn’t break it or easily cut it off. Probably some sort of polymer blend.

His legs were free. That was stupid.

There was a painful throbbing at the back of his head and at the left side of his torso.

Bomb. Right.

The duffel bag exploded and Isagi was knocked back into a tree bark. He must have hit it hard enough to knock him out. And he knew something had pierced his stomach because he felt it just before he blacked out. Isagi moved experimentally and almost groaned from the painful stretch of the wound. It was deep. Probably needed stitches.

Isagi realized that he could still hear his heart beating in his ears. And no matter how hard he tried to relax, he couldn’t force his breathing to calm down.

Shit. Was he still bleeding?

Was that why they forgot his legs? Who were _they_ anyway?

It all came back to Isagi in a fury of memories and burning _rage_.

Kuon.

A traitor.

Isagi’s eyes opened and he focused on the ugly emotion coursing through him to fight the disorientation that hit him hard. The bomb that detonated in the forest, it was Kuon’s own creation. Isagi must’ve been right about the whole thing being a trap. For all he knew, Gagamaru or Raichi could’ve just shot a decoy. What if they had been taken too? Isagi needed to _move_.

Voices floated into the room Isagi was left in before he could take a good look around. He did his best to let his body fall like a puppet with cut strings.

“-haven’t you killed him yet?!”

Kuon?

“We can still get him to our side. I’ve seen his kills. We could use a guy like him.”

“You think he’s gonna change sides so easily?!”

“You did, didn’t you?”

“Because you offered me an out! And that’s not the point I was trying to make! I don’t want to be anywhere near here if you plan on keeping him!”

“Why?”

Ah. That’s right.

Isagi smirked involuntarily. The hellhound was coming. Well then. Isagi had nothing to lose. Isagi’s strength returned like it never left him, like he wasn’t bleeding out on the hard cement of whatever hold-up cell they put him in.

With his wound bleeding sluggishly and his eyesight blurring from the pain and blood loss, Isagi stood on shaky legs and smiled.

Screw Kuon and this shitty place.

Isagi’s got a plane to catch.

* * *

It was a mistake. Kuon had made the biggest mistake of his life. It was worse than turning his back on Blue Lock. Why was Isagi the one who went to save him at that base? Why didn’t the bomb kill Isagi?! Even a weak bomb like that should’ve killed him because he was at the heart of the blast radius! And why didn’t they just kill Isagi after Kuon handed him to them on a silver platter?!

Sure, he didn’t know why they wanted one of the Blue Lock mercenaries alive anyway but he didn’t expect them to plan on turning Isagi to their side. As if Isagi would ever renegade from Blue Lock.

Once Kuon had heard enough and futilely tried to convince them to kill Isagi, he left the premise post-haste.

While he was trekking the forest a few minutes later, he saw an incoming aircraft that was flying suspiciously low.

And that was the proof of Kuon’s mistake. Unknowingly, he had led the hellhound to these people. He couldn’t find it in him to care all that much. He already warned them of the consequences of keeping Isagi Yoichi alive.

* * *

Reo was not having a good day. Fuck Isagi, fuck Kuon, fuck whoever the fuck that was directly or indirectly involved with Reo breaking the speed of sound to get to wherever the fuck Nagi’s stupid tracker was telling him to go. And Reo wasn’t even surprised that Nagi planted a tracker inside Isagi because that was last year’s shocking revelation. He was not going to think about the trackers though because _nope_.

Reo hated his life ever since Nagi met Isagi.

Nagi was not the type of person who dropped everything in a heartbeat. But Reo knew Nagi would for Isagi. After all, that was why Reo was breaking all kinds of laws to fuck up some stupid secret base in the middle of nowhere.

Reo wished he could park the stupid aircraft somewhere so that he could grab his gun and shake off some of the stress he was dealing with. But alas, he was just a chauffeur in this self-proclaimed rescue mission.

Once they got near their destination, Reo opened the hatch and turned around to see his teammates off. He wasn’t even surprised when Nagi had already jumped. Reo sighed when he saw Zantetsu shrugging.

“Please make sure he actually plants the explosives this time.”

“Will do.”

After Zantetsu jumped off with his parachute, Reo closed the hatch and started scouting for a place to land. 

* * *

It was only about 10 minutes in before Zantetsu knew they were close to Isagi. They had come in from the roof after they landed and Nagi only cleared about one floor before Zantetsu sensed it. No matter where it was, the scent of blood was the strongest when it came to the monsters of Blue Lock.

When Nagi opened the next door after they went down a flight of stairs, they were greeted with the sight of Isagi standing over a dead body. There were probably more casualties at the back but Zantetsu couldn’t help but stare at Isagi.

He was covered in blood. Splatters of red specks marked his face and various parts of his body. The whole left side below his torso seemed drenched in blood. And his hands were purposefully hidden behind his back which meant his wrists were tied. So _how on Earth_ did he kill all those people?

Isagi looked up to them with wide eyes at first, chest heaving from exertion or injury, Zantetsu didn’t know, but then Isagi smirked deviously at Nagi.

“What took you so long, genius?” Isagi rasped.

Nagi replied casually as he sheathed his two katanas behind him, “Reo got stuck in traffic.”

Isagi wobbled a little as he brought his foot down from where he was stepping on his latest victim. He didn’t look good at all. When Nagi finally got hold of Isagi, Zantetsu watched the fight and adrenaline leave Isagi in a blink of an eye. The image of that feral animal disappeared and all Zantetsu could see was how horribly pale Isagi was.

“You’re bleeding,” Nagi commented as he cut off the white band that held Isagi’s wrists together.

“Yeah, tell me something I don’t know-“ Isagi cut off with a choked groan as Nagi pressed into the large wound he had discovered. Isagi’s legs buckled and Nagi followed the movement and went down with him till he held Isagi in his arms as he knelt on the ground.

Zantetsu went around the two and crouched down to look where Nagi’s hand was. He let out a soft curse. Had Isagi been bleeding the entire time? Zantetsu quickly reached out for his medical kit. He might need to stitch the wound or Isagi won’t even make it to Reo before they lose him. 

Before Zantetsu could give a run-through of what he needed to do, he saw Nagi looking down at Isagi with the most emotion Zantetsu had ever seen him display. Nagi then uncharacteristically placed his lips chastely to Isagi’s bloodied hairline and gently said, “I’m here. You can rest now.”

At that moment, Zantetsu wished he was _anywhere_ else. It was like he was intruding on an intensely private conversation. And then the way Isagi’s tired and pained features softened felt far too intimate for anyone else other than Nagi to be witnessing. The absolute trust and momentary lapse of vulnerability was reserved for Nagi and Nagi alone. Isagi let his head lean on Nagi’s chest, breathing softly as his eye lids fluttered. Finally, Isagi gave in and his body slumped in Nagi’s arms.

With one more look at Isagi’s face, Nagi’s eyes hardened into the ruthless hellhound he was known and feared as.

“Stabilize him before you bring him to Reo.”

“I know that,” Zantetsu grumbled as he was finally handed Isagi to inspect the gaping wound. “Don’t forget to set up the explosives. Reo’s words.”

Nagi stood up after he cushioned Isagi’s head with the parachute pack. “Don’t worry. I won’t forget. It’s necessary this time.”

As Nagi walked away, Zantetsu wondered what Nagi meant by that. Did he not plant all the explosives before because they were… unnecessary? Logical, because Nagi never left anyone alive when they became his targets but illogical because it just left tracks behind. Zantetsu will never understand Nagi.

After Zantetsu cleaned and stitched the wound the best he could with what he had, he contacted Reo for the meeting point. Luckily, Reo had landed right above them where Nagi and him had landed with their chutes.

“On my way. Prepare the gurney and the blood bags.”

**_“Got it.”_ **

Moving Isagi was a bad idea but the faster they got him to a fully equipped medical bay, the better chances he’d have of surviving. When Zantetsu got on the plane, it was Reo’s turn to curse softly.

“He looks way worse than that time at the underwater lab,” Reo commented as he helped Zantetsu to hook Isagi up with some saline and blood.

Zantetsu sighed. “I don’t even understand how it got this bad.”

“Well, in his own words from that time in the underwater lab, _can’t let Nagi have all the fun_ ,” Reo deadpanned and mocked in imitation of Isagi's voice as he cleaned up all the dried blood that he could reach. “Bunch of idiots, that’s what they are.”

Nagi finally joined them about half an hour later just as Zantetsu was preparing to properly bandage Isagi’s stitches. Wordlessly, Zantetsu passed the bandage roll to Nagi who would have taken the roll from him eventually anyway.

Reo took his place at the cockpit with Zantetsu as his co-pilot. He looked back at Nagi who had successfully sat Isagi up and was expertly balancing Isagi’s head on his shoulder as he deftly rolled the bandage around Isagi’s torso.

“Did you plant the explosives?” Reo asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nagi answered by reaching into his back pocket and then throwing to Reo a detonator which he caught effortlessly.

“Guess we’re off then. Buckle him in.”

* * *

Kuon felt a dreadful tremor in the ground after the distant loud successive sounds of multiple explosions. He looked back to see an aircraft flying away from the smoke of the explosion slowly growing in the air.

At least, one way or another, his last mission with Blue Lock was a success.

* * *

Chigiri and Kunigami met up with Reo after he passed the mandatory health checkup.

“How bad was it?” Kunigami asked first.

“Slightly worse than the underwater lab. But we made it in time.”

Both Chigiri and Kunigami grimaced. Nothing had managed to top the underwater lab so far.

“Well. This would’ve been a repeat of the lab if those two didn’t stick those trackers-“

Reo shushed Kunigami physically. “Do not speak of those things. Because then I’ll start to think about where those trackers _are_ and- Wonderful, it’s stuck in my head now, congratulations.”

Chigiri looked around and asked, “Where’s Zantetsu and Nagi?”

“One’s nursing a bottle in his room because he said he saw something he wanted to forget and the other… Do you really need to ask?”

Concurrently, they made their way to the med bay observatory window on the third floor. Bachira was already there, leaning on the wall.

“You’re not seriously waiting for the 24-hour no-visitation period to be up, are you?” Reo asked incredulously.

“’Course I am!” Bachira exclaimed.

At Reo’s sigh, Bachira reiterated, “Hey, at least I’m not the one who stabbed my own arm to get into the med bay to see Isagi faster!”

Reo deadpanned, “No, you were just upset Nagi did it first.”

"He did _what?!_ " Chigiri and Kunigami shouted in sync.

Bachira shrugged indifferently without denying nor confirming Reo's accusation.

They all turned to see Isagi resting on one of the beds with Nagi’s upper half slumped on the right side of Isagi’s bed as he dozed on a visitor’s chair.

None of them talked about how they almost lost Isagi because of Kuon. They’d get back at him someday. They’d find him and string him up like the traitor he was. One’s freedom from Blue Lock should never cost the life of your teammate.

* * *

This time, Isagi woke up with a clear head and the familiar awful smell of the ward at Blue Lock. He felt much better too. Must be the drugs in his system. He moved his hand and hit something soft. Isagi looked down and saw Nagi’s familiar mop of hair. The idiot was sleeping on his own arms.

Isagi ruffled the hair and it awoke Nagi so suddenly that his head lifted up before his eyes even opened properly. Isagi smiled and then frowned when he saw Nagi wearing the same getup as all the other patients admitted in the Blue Lock med bay.

“Wait, what are you here for?”

Nagi lifted his bandaged right arm. “Hurt my hand.”

Isagi huffed out a laugh. “In a rescue mission? Really? You? The invincible hellhound? How’d that happen, huh?”

“I stabbed myself,” Nagi admitted nonchalantly.

“Figures that the only thing that could hurt you is yourself,” Isagi replied with a shake of his head.

Silence reigned the room as the two gazed at the other. Isagi suddenly remembered Nagi’s face when Nagi told him that he could finally rest.

In a rare display of affection, Isagi reached out to gently caress Nagi’s cheek before he cupped it with a soft smile. Nagi responded by closing his eyes and leaning into Isagi’s palm. They made it this time. They were both still alive.

When Nagi’s eyes opened, he stared straight at Isagi’s lips.

Isagi, in turn, rolled his eyes and pulled Nagi closer till the other was forced to get up from his chair. “You’re not being subtle, you know? If you wanna kiss me, just kiss me.”

Nagi was still a little awkward at initiating so instead of the kiss Isagi was expecting, Nagi planted another soft kiss to Isagi’s forehead as he hovered with arms bracketing Isagi’s shoulders.

“Can’t believe I have to pull you down to kiss me even when we’re not standing on the same level,” Isagi teased as he wrapped his arms around Nagi’s neck and slowly brought their lips together.

Kissing the other felt like coming home. They shared so few in between missions since their teams were always shuffled and they rarely got time off together. They savoured every kiss they could steal.

When their lips parted, they just stared at one another, sharing a very rare fond smile with the other. Just as Nagi moved in for a second kiss, the door to the med bay burst open.

Bachira practically jumped through the door with a shout, “ISAGI! 24 hours is up! We’re here to rescue you from the hellhound!”

He was quickly followed by a few more people. One of them being Reo who looked so done as he made a beeline towards Nagi. “That’s enough. We saw too much already from the window.”

It was followed by Chigiri’s reprimand, “Get away from him, he’s still injured, you heathen.”

Kunigami, who had moved in tandem with Reo, helped Reo to pry a confused Nagi away from Isagi’s bed.

Isagi looked at all of them with a straight face. “Really guys?”

Bachira laughed as he went to give Isagi a bear hug. Isagi patted Bachira and smiled at his friends; Chigiri with his unamused look, Kunigami holding Nagi back as Reo scolded him and Bachira with his arms loosely holding Isagi as he chatted away.

It felt good to be home.

**Author's Note:**

> Nagi actually used the explosives by using them on the people who took Isagi lmao 'Necessary' my ass, Nagi.
> 
> In this AU, Blue Lock is sort of a place that trains mercenaries where you train to the death and go on shady missions for the highest bidders. Kuon wants out (this rarely happens because those who go into Blue Lock are usually bloodthirsty or y'know, bored af and just want to do something) but you can't outrun Ego so the person they were supposed to kill at the start of the fic offered Kuon a way out, new identity and the whole package in exchange for not killing him and giving him any of the Blue Lock members. When they got Isagi, they didn't want to let him go cuz they know who he is. Little did they know, Isagi turns into a monster when he's pushed into a corner and he has a hellhound that comes for him no matter where or when.
> 
> There are so many things I can talk about this fic, how isanagi happened, where the trackers are, what happened at the underwater lab, etc. Maybe someday I'll turn this into a series. For now, enjoy the little tid bits in this fic and make what you will from it!


End file.
